Bellator 222 featured a pair of title fights, as well an aging former champion looking to get back to a shot at a belt.
Rory MacDonald (21-5-1 MMA, 3-1-1 BMMA) defended his welterweight title and handed Neiman Gracie (9-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) the first loss of his career in the main event at Madison Square Garden in New York this past Saturday. In the process, MacDonald moved on to the welterweight grand prix final and a rematch with Douglas Lima, whom he beat to win the title.
Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell (12-3 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) lost a rematch to Kyoji Horiguchi (28-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), who took his 135-pound title to add to the Rizin belt he already has – and retained this past December with a win over Caldwell in a crossover fight.
Plus, former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (26-8 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) had no problem taking out Chael Sonnen (30-17-1 MMA, 2-3 BMMA), and now wants to fight for a Bellator belt, either at 205 pounds or middleweight.
What did those three key fights mean for our rankings? In our new weekly video feature, the MMA Junkie Rankings Report, John Morgan walks you through the implications from Bellator’s big night at the Garden.
Check it out in the video above.
And for complete coverage of Bellator 222, check out the MMA Events section of the site.
